Improvement in honey-boxes for bee-hives



J. M. & H. B. PARKER.

Honey-Box for Bee-Hives.

Patehted Feb. 4, 1879.

I\\ \fi NJEI'ERS, FHDTOLITHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON, D. C.

ATTORNEY JEREMIAH M. PARKER AND HARVEY B. PARKER, OF FARMER CITY, ILLINOIS.

lMPROVEMENT IN HONEY-BOXES FDR BEE-i-HVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 212,047, dated February 4, 1879 application filed September 14, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JEREMIAH M. PARKER and HARVEY B. PARKER, of Farmer City, in the county of De Witt and State of lllinois, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Bee-Hives; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is arepresentation of a vertical section of our improved bee-hive. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the brood-chamber; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are details.

The nature of the invention consists in the construction and novel arrangement of ahoneybox for bee-hives, composed of wooden ends, top, and bottom, grooved upon their inside near their margin for the reception of glass plates, and adapted to be secured together by means of metallic LJ-shaped clamps, passed over the ends of the box, with their branches inserted under guides attached to said box, as hereinafter shown and described.

In the annexed drawings, the letter A desi gnates our improved hive, consisting of a lower brood-chamber, B, and an upper honeychamber, B, separated from each other by a wooden partition, 0, having one or more passage-ways cut through it, and registering with corresponding openings leading into the honey-boxes D. Within the brood-chamber B are arranged the comb-frames E, which latter are trapezoidal in form and placed in the hive with their shortest sides downward, as shown in Fig. 1.

At the bottom of the hive, and at a distance apart equal to the length of the lower part of the frames, are secured the rests F, that are divided by the blocks a into seats b, in which the lower ends of the frames are received and by which their lower portions are prevented from lateral displacement, their upper parts being maintained at a proper distance apart by a preferably metallic guide, F. This is composed of a metallic strip bent to form alternate rectangular rises and depressions c c, the upper rails of the frames E being received in the rises or elevated seats 0, and the depressions fitting snugly between them.

At top and bottom of the frames, and projectin g out horizontally therefrom, are secured the knobs d, the ends of which bear against the glass-sashes G, arranged in guides in the sides of the brood-chamber, and parallel to the ends of the said frames.

At each end of the hive is a hinged door, which, being opened, allows the interior of the chamber to be inspected-through the glass plates without disturbing its occupants.

Bees have entrance to the ohamberB through an opening, 6, at its bottom, which opening is closed at pleasure by a perforated metallic slide, I. The perforations in the slide allow air to penetrate into the hive and circulate freely therein, but exclude moths and other insects.

Access is had to the comb-frames by liftin g off the honey-chamber and removing the partition, and, should it be required to lift out one or more thereof, the flaring shape of the space between the plates G allows it to be done with great ease, as after the first start the frame can bind at no point.

It will be observed that the bearing of the knobs against the glass plates prevents the frames from getting out of place endwise, and keeps them so spaced therefrom that the bees can pass between them and the glass plates G to the upper part of the hive. This appears to give much satisfaction to the bees, and they adopt this means of getting to the honeychamber B in preference to going through the comb-frames.

The honey-boxes D, in the chamber B, are made partly of wood and partly of glass, the tops, bottoms, and ends being of the former and the sidesof the latter material, as shown at n and a, respectively. The top and bottom, and also the ends, are grooved upon their inside, near their margin, for the reception of the glass plates it. These parts, when put together, form a rectangular box, and they are held together by means of the u-shaped metallic clamps J, that are passed over the ends of the box, as shown in Fig. 5, with their branches engaged under the guides 0, thus effectually holding them together.

When these boxes are full we remove them bodily from the honey-chamber, substituting others therefor, and get at their contents by drawing off the clamps J. This allows the tops, sides, and ends to fall away from the comb, and the latter to be removed in a symmetrical rectangular shape, admirably suited for packing in bulk or in separate parcels.

lVhat we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A honey-box for bee-hives composed of wooden ends, top, and bottom, grooved upon their inside, near their margin, for the reception of the glass plates at, and adapted to be secured together by means of metallic L! shaped clamps J, passed over the ends of the box, with their branches under the guides 0 of said box, substantially as specified.

In testimony that we claim the above we have hereunto subscribed our names in the presence of two witnesses.

JEREMIAH M. PARKER. HARVEY B. PARKER. Witnesses:

J. H. KNOX, I. W. EBY. 

